There's a whole host of mice out there, all with different colours, sensors, and functionality, and often designed for different purposes. There are a few key questions you should ask yourself before making any mouse purchase:

Will I be using the mouse with my right or left hand?

Do I want a wired or wireless mouse?

Will I be using it for gaming?

Do I want a portable mouse to use on the go?

How much money do I want to spend?

Will the mouse work on my operating system?

These six questions will help you to quickly figure out what you’re looking for in a mouse, and we've tried to cover most of the bases in our round-up below.

If you're likely to use for a lot of gaming, you might also want to look at our guide to the best gaming mice - many of them feature sensors, buttons, and software designed specifically with gamers in mind.

Best mouse 2018

Logitech MX Master 2S

The Logitech MX Master 2S is the successor to one of our favourite mice for PC - the MX Master. While the original was great, the 2S brings with it a number of improvements.

First up, the design is gorgeous - and when can you ever say that about a computer mouse? It's comfortable and the curves fit perfectly against your hand. Through its Darkfield laser sensor it offers fantastic tracking capabilities, which will work on almost any surface, including high-gloss and glass surfaces. Gone are the days of mouse matts!

The MX Master can be used both through a wireless 2.4G (via USB dongle), Bluetooth or wired connection via microUSB. The wide array of connectivity options make the mouse fantastic for use with various platforms and types of PCs.

One improvement over the original is that when using Logitech Flow, you can seamlessly move your mouse between displays - even when they're different computers running different operating systems. It makes copying and pasting files and working across a multi-computer setup a breeze.

Through the software you can also set up app-specific controls using a combination of pressing the gesture button where your thumb rests and swiping with the mouse in a particular direction. It can control anything from media playback to switching tabs in Google Chrome, and anything else you can think of.

Battery life is an important feature to consider when buying a wireless mouse, but the 2S has that covered. Only three minutes of charge will get you a full day of use, and when fully charged it lasts around 70 days.

No matter what you need a computer mouse for, it's likely that the Logitech MX Master 2S will do the job - and then some.

Microsoft Surface Precision

Grip style: Palm, right-handed mouseOperating system: Windows and Mac

The Microsoft Surface Precision mouse has an understated grey design that might look a little boring, but this is a serious contender for the best mouse out there.

It's heavier than a lot of rivals at 135g but the weight actually makes it a joy to use. It glides like an experienced ice skater across a mouse mat with ease and grace.

Build quality is exceptional with a solid construction. The top part offers a smooth surface while the sides are grippy, although perhaps not as much as some.

The scroll wheel can be toggled between smooth or magnetic detent scrolling quickly using the button just behind it. You can also customise virtical or horizontal scrolling.

The Surface Precision uses Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy and can connect to up to three devices simultaneously with the option to use a USB wired connection if needed.

A total of six buttons gives you a lot of control and four of them are customisable so you can make the mouse do what's most useful for you. However, this, along with Smart Switching, are not available on Windows 10 S or Mac.

Inside are rechargeable batteries and the Surface Pecision can last up to three months.

SteelSeries Rival 100

The SteelSeries Rival 100 is a budget mouse that’s aimed at those looking for an accurate, zero-acceleration sensor. The mouse’s colour scheme can be fully customised through SteelSeries’ software, where through GameSense the mouse can visually display certain game attributes.

The mouse has three additional customisable buttons, two on the left hand-side and one on the top. One of the highlights of the mouse is its symmetric ergonomic design, which means it can be used by both left and right handers.

The Rival 100 boasts fantastic sensor tracking through its PixArt SDNS-3059-SS sensor, making it an affordable mouse for hardcore gamers who are looking to use the mouse for competitive games.

Logitech MX Anywhere 2S

The MX Anywhere 2S looks like an incremental upgrade from the MX Anywhere 2 - not least thanks to the fact that other than a new selection of colour options, the design is essentially identical.

It's still ambidextrous, with two buttons on the left side, and a Smartshift scroll wheel than can vary between smooth and clicky scrolling. The whole thing is small enough to take with you as a portable mouse, but comfortable to use for daily work too.

Still, there are big improvements under the hood. The new Darkfield sensor has jumped from 1,600 DPI to 4,000, adjustable in increments of 50, while battery life is up to 70 days based on eight hours of daily use.

The biggest change lies on the software side though: Logitech's new Flow software lets you seamlessly move the mouse cursor between up to three different computers, across both Windows and macOS.

Even more impressively, you can even copy and paste across the different computers too. For it all to work, you just need to make sure they're all on the same network, and all either have a 'Unifying' USB dongle or are paired with the mouse over Bluetooth.

Sumvision Nemesis Kata

This extremely affordable mouse is fantastic for those looking for a gaming or multimedia mouse. Equipped with the Avago A3050, the mouse provides gamers with good performance, despite having a little bit of positive acceleration.

Through the mouse’s software you’ll be able to customise its three additional buttons (two on the left hand-side and one on the top). The customisable buttons can be used to activate a reload in a game or to control your multimedia volume.

The mouse also has customisable weight cartridges which are used to change the overall feel. On the other hand the coloured LEDs are not customisable.

Given its low price, the Sumvision Nemesis Kata is an extremely capable and multi functional mouse.

Anker Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse

The Anker Ergonomic wireless mouse is aimed at those who want a different grip on their mice, whether due to a health condition or mere preference. The Anker is a vertical-shaped mouse, which is held completely differently to conventional mice.

The Anker connects wirelessly through a 2.4G connection which works alongside a USB dongle. It also has two buttons on the left hand-side, which can be used to quickly go backward and forward on web pages. There’s also a button at the top of the mouse allowing you to quickly adjust the DPI level.

This mouse isn’t recommended for those wanting to game, but is suggested for those wanting a different ergonomic grip.

Penclic R3

Designed by Swedish manufacturer Penclic, the R3 is built with the aim of reducing repetitive strain injury (RSI) by allowing you to rest your wrist in a comfortable position along the desk while using the mouse.

You hold the R3 roughly like a pen, and the three buttons and scroll wheel sit comfortably where your fingertips rest. There's an adjustment period when it feels pretty clunky, but after a day or two we adapted and found it just as quick and natural to use as almost any mouse.

You get plenty of options too - the R3 is three-button, but there's also a five-button R2 variant. They both connect by Wi-Fi to a USB dongle, but the B2 and B3 use Bluetooth (and are in white), and the D2 and D3 are wired, so just about every base is covered.

SpeedLink Kudos Z-9

The Speedlink Kudos Z-9 houses the Avago ADNS-9800, which is a great budget gaming sensor. The mouse is finished in a red glossy plastic, which gives it a distinctive look. There are six programmable buttons which can be set up to correspond with various game actions or be used to control multimedia functions.

The main feature that sets apart the mouse is its good ergonomics for palm users. It’s a comfortable right-handed mouse which, to the average-sized hand. will be fantastic to use.

There’s no Mac-compatible software; the mouse will work without any software on Mac, but you will not be able to customise the button layout.

Speedlink Obsidia Ergonomic mouse

The phrase that comes to mind with the Obsidia mouse is 'built for comfort, not for speed'. Of course there's nothing wrong with that, as comfort is far more desirable over a normal workday than the ability to make headshots at lightning pace in online games.

The chassis is a palm-filling dome with a smooth recess on the left side for your thumb. This makes it a right-hand only model. In the recess are two buttons which default as navigation controls to move you forward and backwards through screens and webpages. These are accompanied by the two main buttons on the top of the body, alongside a scroll wheel, and a DPI button that cycles through four modes. These range from slow and precise to leaping across the screen with the slightest movement.

The rubberised finish makes the Obsidia easy to grip, it's comfortable to use as a daily driver, and the easy to access modes are a quick way to alter its purpose, depending on the application you're using.